Andrew Attwood’s journey in search of life balance has led him to a remarkable opportunity in the field of eco-tourism. In a world where sustainability and environmental consciousness are gaining prominence, Attwood’s story inspires those seeking a harmonious blend of personal fulfillment and professional success.
At the heart of his transformative experience is the Antbear Eco Lodge, an exemplary venture that combines eco-consciousness with tourism. This article explores how Andrew Attwood’s pursuit of life balance opened doors for him to excel in the realm of eco-tourism and create a meaningful impact on the environment and local communities.
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The Antbear Eco Lodge, founded by Attwood, is a prime example of sustainable tourism. Attwood’s vision for the lodge encompasses the preservation of nature, the promotion of local culture, and the creation of a low-impact, eco-friendly experience for visitors. By integrating sustainable practices, such as using renewable energy sources, implementing waste management systems, and supporting local communities, Attwood has built an eco-tourism haven that resonates with conscious travelers.
Attwood’s story is a testament to the growing trend of sustainability entrepreneurship and the need for individuals to take responsibility for their actions in mitigating climate change. His journey showcases the possibilities that arise when one aligns their values with their career choices. Through his pursuit of a balanced lifestyle, Attwood discovered the potential to make a positive difference in the world through eco-tourism.
Read the inspiring story of how Andrew Attwood developed the luxury cave experience with Antbear Eco Lodge and found success in eco-tourism and sustainable lifestyle.
What is your business about?
Andrew Attwood: Antbear Eco Lodge https://antbear.co.za/ is a small eco-tourism hospitality business in the Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa. It’s owner-run by Andrew and Conny Attwood.
What makes our lodge particularly special is that we offer accommodation in a luxury cave. This is an accommodation unit built under a rock. Glass doors open onto a wooden deck with hammock chairs and a spectacular view of the Drakensberg Mountains. This is a luxury eco experience. The cave is cozy and comfortable with features like a Jacuzzi spa bath and a fireplace, and even has rock art on its walls.
We also offer a private dining experience where we set up a table on the deck of your cave, and you dine by candlelight under the stars. Sustainability and responsible tourism are a huge part of the ethos of our lodge, and we subscribe as much as possible to the farm-to-plate concept. We cook all our meals from scratch and have our own organic vegetable garden. We have our own chickens for eggs, cows for milk, and bake our own bread, and we even make our own cheese.
Antbear Lodge also offers horse trails ideally suited to beginners. Hot air balloon flights launch from the lawn in front of the lodge, and our newest attraction is our star-gazing hammock camp, where we tell the African stories of the stars.
The area offers a lot of spectacular hiking trails with dramatic views and waterfalls. And then there is the spectacular bushman rock art, where you can see some of the best examples in the world.
What inspired you to start this business? How and why did you start your business?
Andrew Attwood: A desire to find a different way to live resulted in our lodge. Conny and I were both looking to get away from our hectically corporate lifestyles and live a sustainable existence and be as far as possible self-sufficient. We lumped all of our savings into buying a small piece of land that contained a ruin.
And so our journey began with fixing old buildings, creating a paradise to live in and an income that would sustain us. Initially, I hoped to do some remote software development, but due to a lack of IT infrastructure in our rural home, that plan ended badly.
That’s where we saw the opportunity for eco-tourism.
Back then, when we started, eco-tourism and sustainability were new and different, and it was already our passion and ideal. Letting other people share our experience is humbling and, at the same time, satisfying, although we did not know that in the beginning.
We built using alternative methods like strawbale construction, rammed earth, and cob. We sourced everything hyper-local; for the most part, the building materials came from the farm itself. I learned to do woodwork and have created every single piece of furniture at the lodge as well as doors and windows. I even made some wooden hinges. This has created a character that’s unique and artistic.
Conny put her mind to the garden creating our own food through organic permaculture, earthworm farm, free-range chickens, ducks, geese, sheep, pigs, and cows. It’s all small-scale. Conny bakes our own bread and makes our own cheese, butter, and yogurt. We have even learned to spin our own wool.
It took us 5 years to see some positive cash flow, but doing what we could afford and being sustainable has put us in this now stable position.
What were the biggest challenges you faced in starting your business?
Andrew Attwood: By far, our biggest challenge has been to find customers. Neither of us came from a marketing background, so our lack of experience and understanding were the biggest issues to get past. Worse, we did not even know this was such an important issue. We followed an initial approach of building it, and they will come.
If there is one thing I now tell other aspiring entrepreneurs is learn to sell. Of course, the delivery of the service offering is also important, but somehow that always seemed manageable.
Over the years, I have learned to be a marketing expert for hospitality services. I have been successful with B2B relationships with the travel trade, direct marketing to consumers, Google ads, Facebook ads, email marketing, and using WhatsApp. The point now is that I am starting to create a new business selling my marketing expertise. Have a look at my concept here https://gosouthafrica.co.za.
How are you marketing your business?
Andrew Attwood: We have used both B2B and B2C and use every marketing avenue we can afford. Of course, there is no single strategy that works in isolation, but for us, the combination of email marketing and using WhatsApp has turned out to be, by far, our best marketing asset. I wish I had discovered this sooner, but this has only been the last 12 months. It’s also the most affordable marketing channel, and I like owning my customer details.
We all know the axiom “build an email list”. Well, that is less easy than anyone ever admits. That is until I discovered something genius. That is to connect WhatsApp with web forms. This means every time we have an interaction with a potential client, it is instantaneous. Once you do this, there is no longer such thing as an open rate or an unsubscribe anymore. Just pure engagement.
Still, this alone does not solve how to generate the traffic. Turns out the solution is simple. What we are doing now is that we run a competition with a giveaway (e.g., https://gosouthafrica.co.za/midlands-comp). I like to partner with others because it makes for a way more enticing giveaway. The competition is seeded with Facebook awareness ads that link to the competition entry page. The click-through rate is huge, and once you have the contact, you no longer need to pay Facebook for it again.
Next is to promise bonus entries if people share the competition with their friends. I give 5 bonus entries into the competition for every one of their friends that enters. We also offer a bonus prize for the person who gets the most bonus entries which creates competition for people to share more than others. The viral effect multiplies the seeded leads by 10. i.e., I pay for 4000 leads but generate 40000.
The competition also generates incredible segmentation through the survey questions. The competitions trigger an automated email series that delivers offers via email on a drip-by-drip basis on autopilot. These emails build trust and familiarity, and most importantly, they carry our offers. These offers link back to landing pages (e.g., https://antbear.co.za/spa) which deliver the availability and a quote back into WhatsApp.
Conversion rates have increased, our response times have increased, and admin has decreased dramatically. A WhatsApp bot handles most of the messages, bookings, and inquiries. This has worked so well that I have created a NO CODE platform on https://gosouthafrica.co.za where I am offering to help other tourism businesses with competitions and WhatsApp bots so that they can also implement the same solution that has kicked our business into overdrive.
We now have an email list of nearly 500,000 with great segmentation. We just send an email, and the reservations pour in.
How are you balancing your business with your personal life?
Andrew Attwood: This was the whole purpose of coming and living in the rural countryside.
In the beginning, it sometimes seemed as if we just worked in the business, but we always did it together and have always had a passion and satisfaction from the business.
These days, Conny and I go for walks every day on the farm with our dog called Angel. We both have hobbies, and we make time for these too. We love the farm and spend hours together working in the garden or on new projects that have popped up to inspire us.
We don’t have the desire to create an empire, and now that the business is working so well with our staff doing the daily tasks, it’s really easy to find time to spend on our relationship, which is the most important aspect of our lives.Â
What lessons have you learned so far about being an entrepreneur?
Andrew Attwood: Our business has grown, and we have employed people to do a lot of the work we used to do ourselves. The big benefit is that we now get to work on our business rather than inside the business. Somehow this gives much more perspective to issues that used to be huge.
I have also discovered that I am much more resilient than I used to be. Coping with things that go wrong seems to drive me to find a solution, and I seem to perform best with my back against the wall.
In the last years, we have coped with fires, drought, floods, riots, Covid, energy supply restrictions, and poor service delivery by the government. Every crisis has changed things for the better, even when that crisis seemed to be existential at the time.Â
How do you see the business five years from now?
Andrew Attwood: Now that is a question I don’t have an answer for.
New ideas come up every day, and as they evolve, new opportunities are created.
We are now creating a volunteer program for people who want to spend time with us, experience our alternative lifestyle, and learn a few sustainable skills. I also am passionate about local community development and am spending more time mentoring local micro-entrepreneurs to create their own businesses and projects.
What tips can you share with other entrepreneurs thinking of starting their businesses?
I think the most important thing to do is to get started. Things don’t always have to be perfect before you start. That can be fixed as you go. Just get started.
I also think it’s worth following your dream or passion because then you don’t see the business as work but rather as something way more meaningful and enjoyable.
Keep learning. Nobody knows everything, and things change all the time too. Learn to use automated tools like WhatsApp.
Don’t just give up just because this time round, you bet on the wrong horse. It’s from my mistakes that I have learned the most.
Summary
Attwood’s journey not only highlights the significance of finding work-life balance but also emphasizes the importance of responsible entrepreneurship and sustainable business practices. His success in eco-tourism serves as an inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs who wish to make a positive impact on the environment while pursuing their passions.
In a world where the consequences of climate change are increasingly evident, Andrew Attwood’s story reminds us of the power of individual actions and the potential for a more sustainable future. By embracing the principles of eco-tourism and living in harmony with nature, Attwood has found both personal fulfillment and professional success. His journey exemplifies how the pursuit of life balance can lead to unexpected opportunities and create a lasting impact on the environment and society.
